Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 631,737 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,380 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Leggett & Platt worth $8,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Leggett & Platt by 426.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,042,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,923,000 after purchasing an additional 11,373,507 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Leggett & Platt by 1,098.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,005,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838,009 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Leggett & Platt by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 350,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,719,000 after purchasing an additional 27,106 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt during the second quarter worth approximately $3,380,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 61.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 268,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,148,000 after acquiring an additional 102,113 shares in the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leggett & Platt Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEG opened at $11.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.96 and a beta of 1.07. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $10.11 and a 52 week high of $27.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.71 and a 200 day moving average of $12.31.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Leggett & Platt had a positive return on equity of 14.99% and a negative net margin of 18.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LEG shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Leggett & Platt from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Leggett & Platt from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $11.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Leggett & Platt from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Leggett & Platt presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.67.

About Leggett & Platt

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated designs, manufactures, and sells engineered components and products in the United States, Europe, China, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Bedding Products; Specialized Products; and Furniture, Flooring & Textile Products. The company offers steel rods, drawn wires, specialty foam chemicals and additives, innersprings, specialty foam for use in bedding and furniture, private label finished mattresses, ready-to-assemble mattress foundations, static foundations, and adjustable beds, as well as machines for producing innersprings; industrial sewing and quilting machines; mattress-packaging; and glue-drying equipment for various industrial users of steel rod and wire, manufacturers of finished bedding, bedding brands and mattress retailers, E-commerce retailers, big box retailers, department stores, and home improvement centers.